Improvemants to Alibre Script

[Lew_Merrick]

Let us suggest things to make Alibre Script better here!

 

[Lew_Merrick]

OK, I cannot resist to pour more gas on the fire! At the very top of my "Iwould love" list for Alibre Script would be the ability to have a Zoom to Fit command in Alibre Script.

 

[wiabggwin]

I asked this before and I'll ask it again. Need to be able to tie entities created with a script with parameters. I have a script that I use to put, sometimes hundreds of hole in a panel all different diameters. It works great BUT if I make a mistake then I start over or I have to manually open the part and one by one add dimension parameters to each hole. Would be nice for these to be input as I go. Thanx!

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

Constraints and parameter / dimensions would be great.

 

[ajayre]

There is some support for dimensions already. Call AddDimension on a 2D Sketch passing the details of two sketch points. Sketch points can be added by calling AddPoint.

Andy

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

A few more things I would like added to AlibreScript:

UtilityDialog GUI selection options for picking single sketch objects.

UtilityDialog GUI selection options for lists of multiple parts, faces, edges, points, or sketch objects. (Like Alibre pattern dialogs)

UtilityDialog GUI refresh/update the GUI programmatically.

UtilityDialog GUI close the GUI programmatically.

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

In addition to Lew's suggestion for invoking "Zoom To Fit" I would suggest being able to invoke
"Edit Here"
"Edit In Separate Window"
"Orient to Sketch"
"Orient to Plane"
Pan/Rotate/Zoom

 

[ajayre]

UtilityDialog GUI selection options for lists of multiple parts, faces, edges, points, or sketch objects. (Like Alibre pattern dialogs)

This one is already done for the next release. Andy

 

[otrotabi]

How about patterns ? Is it already possible for features or parts to add linear or circular patterns ?

 

[ajayre]

How about patterns ? Is it already possible for features or parts to add linear or circular patterns ?

Doesn't look like patterns are supported in the API yet. Would need to be added there first then added to scripting.

Andy

 

[otrotabi]

Doesn't look like patterns are supported in the API yet. Would need to be added there first then added to scripting.

Andy

Thanks Andy. For example, I need to generate holes on a part according to a regular pattern. Using a script, I am able to do it with a while loop one hole at a time, but if I used the GUI interface I would certainly use the linear pattern tool and not draw every single hole the hard way. Do you know if there is any fundamental difference (in terms of file size maybe) between generating one at a time or using a pattern ?

As far as I know, as long as I use a pattern the holes are "grouped" together under the same label, but them I am able to delete some of them individually in case I do not need them, so it looks like as if in terms of the internal file "structure" it is pretty much the same, it only saves time. On the other hand, you can edit the pattern, so that makes me think otherwise, that they are a different thing than just a collection of individual "holes" using my example.

 

[otrotabi]

What about automating drawing generation. Can it be done ?

 

[Lew_Merrick]

What about automating drawing generation. Can it be done ?

Not based on uising Design Sketch Dimensions. There is a difference between Design Dimensions and Manufacturing Dimensions.. In essence we would need to define Manufacturing Dimensions (and their associated tolerances and notes) to make an (if you will) "auto-Drawing generator" work.

 

[NateLiquidGravity]

Here are is another set of requests:
Currently we can only remove features and sketches.
We need the following as well
Remove a part
Remove a sub-assembly
Remove a point
Remove an axis
Remove a plane

 

[Lew_Merrick]

I do with that Alibre Script had the ability to set and change values for File Properties->General->Part Data. It would allow us to patch things until we have a useful definition dataset there.

 

[idslk]

Would be nice Lew,
from AlibreX.dll side they are in ADExtendedDesignProperty Enumeration,
with this it would also be easy to populate the title block in drawings.

 

[Lew_Merrick]

Would be nice Lew, from AlibreX.dll side they are in ADExtendedDesignProperty Enumeration, with this it would also be easy to populate the title block in drawings.

Ah, but with an Alibre Script you could assign values consistently to the waste-of-space categories within the File Ptoperties->General->Part Data allotments without having to commit to memory what tends to become a long list.

 

[Lew_Merrick]

Just to be clear the existing categories allotted to the File Properties->General->Part Data values would have to work up to qualify as a waste of effort!

 

[wiabggwin]

Hi All
How about a better way to handle REV Levels. More specific rev history and descriptions. Now it seems the on;y way to handle this is with notes or tables (not very practical). Something like how the BOM works now but for revisions.

 

[Lew_Merrick]

How about a better way to handle REV Levels. More specific rev history and descriptions. Now it seems the on;y way to handle this is with notes or tables (not very practical). Something like how the BOM works now but for revisions.

The fact is that a "Revision History" belongs in an "External Database" that would track such things as the when and why of Reasons for Revision at a Project level -- a major reason that I suggeest that all information included in Parts Data variables be accessible though AlibreScript as it would vastly simplify Project documentation.